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In a message dated 10/25/2009 2:53:07 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
bottomgun@mindspring.com writes:
angled ballast tank ports, you may find that a vacuum gets pulled on your tanks. Ya Jay. I wondered about a small amount of vacuum actually "pulling"
water into the tanks. The 12 gage stainless tanks will withstand a little vacuum
or over pressure. They are actually pretty rigid.
The reason for having the tanks so "closed" with just the small openings on
the bottom was to insure I could keep air in them even if the dive angle got
severe or possibly really rough water at the surface.
I'm pretty sure whatever vacuum that could build up would be far lower than
what it takes to buckle the tanks.
The series of lengthwise "breaks" or bends on the surface adds a lot of
rigidity to them. The breaks also add visual appeal as it resembles the wood
strips on a skiff.
A couple of "soft " spots have stiffeners welded inside so the tanks
should be able to take a pounding from surface towing, waves, and impacts
against rocks when submerged.
I had originally planned on making FRP tanks to avoid rust but opted
for metal ones because of impact. Much better to dent a tank than crack
it.
Plus I can polish the stainless like CHROME ! ( damn Harley riders !
)
Frank D.
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